THE Marcos administration has now exceeded the 2024 national budget by over P65 billion, mostly via unprogrammed appropriations, based on data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
The data showed the country’s 2024 budget had ballooned from the approved P5.768 trillion to P5.83 trillion as of end-September, with P65.172 billion added to unprogrammed appropriations. This means that government agencies will take on the amount as extra obligations for priority programs, if revenue collections exceed targets, or if more grants and foreign funds are secured.
To recall, Congress approved the executive branch’s request for an additional P449.5 billion in unprogrammed funds in the 2024 budget, for a total of P731.45 billion from the original P281.91 billion.
As of end-September, P251.72 billion has been used for various priority programs, infrastructure projects and social programs to support the agriculture, labor and health sectors, among others.
Key allocations include P120.83 billion for foreign-assisted projects, of which P53.32 billion went to the Department of Transportation, and P45.61 billion to the Department of Public Works and Highways.
Furthermore, P27.45 billion was released for public health emergency benefits of health care workers, while P31.26 billion went to personnel benefits across multiple departments.
Other notable disbursements were P10.16 billion to government-owned and -controlled corporations, and P6 billion for maintenance of national roads.
Of the total adjusted P5.83-trillion budget, the DBM has disbursed P3.85 trillion under the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA), or 96 percent of overall financing amounting to P4.01 trillion.
The DBM has also reported disbursing 98.1 percent or P3.43 trillion of the allocated P3.50 trillion for government departments in the 2024 GAA.
For special purpose funds, disbursements were at 81.7 percent, totaling P414.37 billion of the total allocation of P507.48 billion.
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